Bondarenko: Vance told Patriarch Bartholomew about UOC persecution

Meeting in the Oval Office. Photo: Facebook of Archbishop Elpidophoros

Political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko, in a conversation with blogger Oleksandr Shelest, spoke about the details of the White House meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and Vice President J.D. Vance.

Bondarenko reminded that Vance is a well-known supporter of religious freedoms.

“And Patriarch Bartholomew was explicitly told that there is persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine,” the political analyst continued.

According to him, the Patriarch, in response, tried to justify himself by appealing to the Holodomor and Stalinist repressions, which in the current situation looked extremely unconvincing.

Also, according to Bondarenko, Patriarch Bartholomew was “asked to give an account of his relations with Mike Pompeo, of Mike Pompeo’s involvement in the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the granting of the Tomos. Besides, a specific sum was named.”

Earlier, UOJ reported that, according to Patriarch Bartholomew, he told Trump that he had granted the Tomos to the OCU because Russia is an enemy of Ukraine.

Read also